Zero-Carbon FUELS

To facilitate rapid decarbonization and cut dependency on fossil fuels, both nuclear energy and renewables are needed for power and hydrogen production, a new independent study has concluded. The study, by Aurora Energy Research, investigates the benefits of deploying both nuclear and renewables for hydrogen production, to support the energy transition and meet UK climate targets. The report, Decarbonising Hydrogen in a Net Zero Economy, was commissioned by Urenco and has been supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency, EDF, and LucidCatalyst.

The maritime sector faces increasing pressure from global organizations and consumers to reduce its carbon footprint. This workshop addressed the decarbonization of marine shipping, focusing on the role of zero-carbon fuels (ZCFs), the role of nuclear energy in producing those fuels, and the challenges and opportunities likely to be encountered on the path to a low-carbon shipping industry. Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll of Terra Praxis participated.

Kirsty Gogan is featured in the cover story of Nuclear Future about how the nuclear industry can help deliver Net Zero. “By incorporating these strategies we could dramatically change our prospects. Once there is better awareness and understanding, the potential will start to mobilise.”

The U.K. has set a target for 5 gigawatts of hydrogen production by 2030, envisioning its use in road transportation, home heating, and ship propulsion. EDF currently runs 27 plants in the U.K. and France, and is building two more; Sizewell C would be its 30th. “The nuclear industry does need to broaden its ambition and recognize the value of these opportunities,” said Kirsty Gogan, member of a government nuclear advisory board [and co-founder of Terra Praxis]. “We have started to see this happening.”

In this compelling and optimistic discussion, two formidable nuclear energy experts Kirsty Gogan and Dr. Rita Baranwal (former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy, and now VP of nuclear at the Electric Power Research Institute) explain why nuclear is so often left out of the conversation and, more importantly, why we have no choice but to include it in the mix of transition fuels to get us to a net-zero future. They talk about energy access, decarbonization challenges, and being trailblazers in the industry. Visit site, watch the video, or listen to the podcast.

The UK's NNL has published ground-breaking modelling report demonstrating the role nuclear can play in delivering the UK’s net zero goals. This is the first time that such diverse, scalable and low-cost applications for nuclear technologies have been fully represented across the whole energy system. This work reveals potential routes to de-risk and lower the cost of achieving net zero. The modelling, which was conducted with independent specialists from Energy Systems Catapult and LucidCatalyst, (partner organization to Terra Praxis) considers the whole energy system on the path to net zero. This includes the role of nuclear in providing not just electricity but also heat, hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

Professional astrophysicist Dr. Al Scott has a conversation with Terra Praxis co-founders, Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll discussing their idea to revolutionize the battle against fossil fuels and carbon emissions: using the heat and electricity from advanced heat sources to create hydrogen more efficiently than by non-thermal electrolysis. This carbon-free hydrogen can be used to create synthetic fuels and could contribute to reversing the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

This 12th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM12) event was hosted by the NICE Future initiative, and moderated by Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis. View the video of this session about clean energy and green hydrogen for fuels and industrial heat. Even as clean electricity becomes more readily available worldwide, emissions are still projected to continue, and rise, in difficult to decarbonize sectors, such as industry, aviation and shipping. This event explored opportunities to target these hard-to-abate sectors with advanced heat sources and hydrogen-enabled synthetic fuels to accelerate cost-effective transitions to zero emissions energy systems. Kirsty presents the findings from the Missing Link report starting at 21.30 and then at 53.30 there is an interesting Q&A session with all the panelists.

This 12th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM12) event was hosted by the NICE Future initiative, and moderated by Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis. View the video of this session with international leaders discussing how flexibility and integration can maximize the full potential of clean, reliable, and affordable power systems enabling the transition towards countries’ ambitious net zero goals. Note that at the 36th minute, Kirsty Gogan interviews current and former Director Generals Sama Bilbao y León, Grossi, and Magwood and then she has a conversation with Fatih Birol.

The WNA hosted this webinar exploring the role of nuclear energy to decarbonize sectors beyond electricity with two studies: Canadian Nuclear Association President, John Gorman, on the economic and climate implications of employing small modular reactors (SMRs) in Canada’s high-emitting industrial sectors, and Terra Praxis co-founder Eric Ingersoll, discussed how untapped options for clean hydrogen can put the world back on the pathway to the Paris climate goals.

Watch this webinar sponsored by Top Tier Impact and LucidCatalyst about how we can de-risk the energy transition, featuring Kirsty Gogan, Eric Ingersoll, and John Herter, of LucidCatalyst and Terra Praxis. Reducing emissions at the pace and scale required demands wholesale structural change, including utilization of all currently available low-carbon technologies and new innovations. The challenges may be unevenly spread across sectors, especially for the hard to decarbonize sectors such as industry, shipping, and aviation — but all must contribute.

Watch Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis in this important discussion. In the year the UK hosts COP26, the Prime Minister has made delivering a Green Industrial Revolution a key priority for the Government. Meeting the Net Zero target by 2050 will largely depend on how quickly the energy system can be decarbonized. A greater share of electricity generation will need to come from zero-emission sources, such as nuclear and renewables. But other trends — such as the electrification of transport and heating — will mean more electricity overall will need to be generated. This discussion explores how Britain can ensure that it has the infrastructure and policies in place to meet these challenges.

Caring about the environment has traditionally focused on the scarcity of natural resources, but with nuclear power a healthier world can also mean abundance for all, environmentalist Ben Heard (NGO Bright New World) said today at the Atoms for Humanity discussion on Why Humanity Needs Nuclear produced by Russia's Rosatom. The discussion centred on the social, environmental, and global partnerships aspects of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was moderated by Kirsty Gogan, co-founder of Terra Praxis.

The $3bn HNH facility, to be powered by 1.8GW of onshore wind, will generate up to 1m tones of green ammonia per year.

We wanted to share this informative article; it does not mention Terra Praxis.

Eric Ingersoll and Kirsty Gogan were invited to present on Non-Power Applications, at this the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) Webinar Series​, examining the opportunities, challenges, and innovations needed for shaping our carbon-free future.